


Dog days are over

by JustSomeMusings



Series: This is the way, this is the way we move [1]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: And the most adorable, M/M, Max is the best, Some Cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-26
Updated: 2013-07-26
Packaged: 2017-12-21 09:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/898782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustSomeMusings/pseuds/JustSomeMusings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For this prompt on the pacificrimkinkmeme: <a href="http://pacificrimkink.livejournal.com/350.html?thread=185694#t571486">I simply adore Max! I get a feel that Max knows how his human feels toward Raleigh but his human is a tad shy so why not Max helps him out?</a></p><p>So basically a 5+2 in which Max is the best dog ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dog days are over

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Dog Days by Florence + The Machine
> 
> Also Pentecost and Chuck are alive because otherwise I get sad. Also really needed part 5 to happen for reasons.

1 

Chuck is mad. 

Actually correction Chuck is completely fucking pissed. 

And betrayed. 

Really, really betrayed.

He has no idea how in the world his most precious, and loyal, friend in the entire fucking universe could hurt him so badly. He’s gone to the dark side. There’s no coming back from this. He’ll just have to get another dog. One that is definitely, infinitely more loyal than Max. One that does not succumb to the charms of washed up Jaeger pilots, who shouldn’t be here in the first place.  


Not that Raleigh is charming. 

He does not found the has-been charming. 

“Give me my dog back,” Chuck growls out, stalking forward. Raleigh’s head snaps up to roll his eyes at Chuck. Max barks to get the has-been’s attention again. And Goddamn his dog being a pet whore. It only makes Raleigh grin though and give Max a big double handed tummy rub. Becket doesn’t look so bad when he smiles really. 

Nope.

Not a thought Chuck just had. 

He whistles. Max immediately perks up and Becket’s face immediately drops. Max doesn’t move. Chuck glares at him. Max whines. Chuck rolls his eyes. Max just pants at him. His dog. Seriously. Least loyal little shit. Becket chuckles,

“Go on Max. Before his head explodes,” he pats Max’s head once more before smirking up at Chuck. And for a really childish moment Chuck wants to stick his tongue out at him. Instead he flips him the bird. Much more mature. Raleigh’s answering grin is taunting, but he pushes Max towards Chuck, who whine, but trots over to Chuck. 

The asshole walks away leaving Chuck death stare doing its work on empty space, which he turns instead on Max. Max who sits there innocently like he sees no wrong with what he’s done. Chuck knows better. His dog is smart, too smart for his own good, and knows exactly what he did. 

“Traitor,” Chuck mutters, which doesn't deter Max from rubbing himself against his leg in a bid for affection. Chuck crosses his arms in a bid to defy the actual puppy eyes. It never works for long. He crouches to pet his pup and gets kisses for his troubles.

He’ll forgive him for it this time. 

***

2

Raleigh is having an ok day. No day has really been good since Yancy died, but he’ll take all the ok days he can get. It hasn’t been an eventful day, which both sucks and is something to be grateful for. There’s no need to suit up, but that also means that there’s only training to do. There are only so many times that one can punch a punching bag before they get bored. Sparring only takes the edge off so much. His body feels good after being put through its paces though, which he’s taking as a good sign after being out of the game for so long. 

He swings one final punch at the bag before heeding his rumbling stomach. He debates getting a shower before heading to the mess, but his rooms would mean detouring and stomach is very much protesting at the idea of stopping before getting food. The guys and gals at the mess have withstood more than him covered in drying sweat. 

It’s when he enters the mess hall that it all goes wrong. 

His day goes from being ok to sucking in a matter of seconds. 

Somehow, the kid’s dog manages to trip Raleigh so completely that he ends up on top of the kid in the middle of the mess hall with everyone around them laughing their asses off. He’s pretty sure Newt was just laughing so hard milk squirted out his nose. Even Mako is hiding a grin behind her hand. Apparently even though the apocalypse is a few days off people tripping and falling on other people is still hysterical. And seriously how is this tangling of limbs even possible? Every time they try to get off each other they end up more wrapped up in each other and the leash the Max is currently dragging around them as he runs in circles. 

“Max! Stop!” Chuck yells as he desperately tries to get his mouth out of Becket’s hair, while Raleigh tries to keep his knee out of the brat’s balls, “Jesus fuck Max! What has gotten into you? Stop!” 

Max doesn’t seem to care what Chuck is yelling at him. He just keeps on barking and running. And how long is this God forsaken leash anyway? And that’s one he sees that the handle of leash isn’t in Chuck’s hand, but on the floor near them. It has a button to stop leash from pouring out. It has the ability to stop the madness. Raleigh lunges for it. He succeeds, but at the cost of elbowing Chuck in the cheek. 

Chuck curses a blue streak. Raleigh hits the button. And Max yelps as the leash pulls taught. All three of them pant and try to get their breathes back. When Chuck and Raleigh finally mange to emerge from their leash death trap they both turn equally as pissed glares onto Max, who doesn’t even have the decency to cower. He instead looks rather pleased with himself. 

“I’m thinking about killing your dog,” Becket mutters still staring at the satisfied creature. Chuck snorts. 

“This may be the only time we agree on anything,” he replies before turning tail and walking away. Max gives a pitiful whine that has Chuck rolling his eyes and turning back to him, “C’mon you pain in the ass.” 

Max trots after his master and Raleigh makes a whipped sound. 

Chuck still maintains that flipping people off is a mature way of expressing oneself. 

***

3

He managed to survive the Big Ocean Apocalypse Fight. Mostly due to Pentecost shoving him in an escape pod and forcing him to leave. He came out the ocean dead. Technically for two minutes and sixteen seconds before Raleigh-fucking-Becket succeeded in resuscitating him on a pod in the middle of the roiling fucking ocean. 

He’s not sure how he feels about that. 

He has broken ribs, exhaustion from the radiation poisoning he managed to live through, and a broken arm. Most of the time Chuck is struggling to keep his head above water between almost dying, wondering if he really should be dead, what the fuck he’s going to do now, how to thank Pentecost, which seems easier than figuring out how to thank Becket for his life and for being there. Cause Becket is pretty much permanently there now keeping an eye on him, which he is annoyed with and grateful for.

And how the fuck does anyone handle emotions?

“Your dog is plotting something,” Tendo states bringing him out of his thoughts. Tendo’s intensely staring at Max and Max is intensely staring right back at him. Chuck swears that Tendo is trying to communicate with his dog. Which is ridiculous…Max can only communicate with him. 

“I swear he is,” Tendo says and Chuck just barely resists rolling his eyes because he’s been doing too much of that lately. Way, way, way too much. He’s still standing there watching Tendo watch Max, who watches Tendo back, while Chuck watches and is beginning to question his sanity (and why he was asked up here) when Raleigh walks in. He blinks in confusion. 

“What the hell’s happening?” Raleigh questions, while looking back and forth between Tendo and Max. His brows are during that thing where they furrow when he’s baffled by something. Not that Chuck knows what that looks like or anything. 

“Tendo is convinced Max is up to something,” Chuck responds and shrugs when Raleigh’s eyebrow raises up. He turns back to look incredulously at Tendo, who doesn’t give him the time of day. 

“Seriously?” Raleigh looks so disbelieving that it makes Chuck want to laugh. 

“Yup. He’s absolutely—“ Tendo shushes Chuck before the sentence can get more than halfway out of his mouth. Chuck’s disgruntled look actually makes Raleigh laugh before he gets a warning bark out of Max. Raleigh just grins. 

“Any idea why we got called up here?” he whispers and Chucks shakes his head. He looks at Raleigh. Really looks at him. The man looks exhausted. Dark circles, pale skin, stubble. He looks like he hasn’t slept in days, yet he’s still following Chuck around and trying to take care of him. 

“Thanks,” he blurts out. Raleigh startles and turns his stunned face towards Chuck. He opens his mouth to say something, but Chuck beats him to it, 

“I mean it. Thanks for, well, everything. My life. And…and my sanity. I,” he swallows hard, “Just thanks.” 

Raleigh doesn’t say anything and Chuck starts to think he’s made an ass out of himself, but Raleigh grabs his good hand and squeezes it. Chuck gives him a small smile that Raleigh returns. 

“Come get food with me?” Raleigh requests. Chuck blinks in confusion at the direction the conversation went before nodding. They go in silence leaving behind a man, a staring contest, and dog. 

Tendo grins.

“Good job little buddy. High five,” Tendo puts out his hand and Max hits his paw into it. 

***

4 

About two hours later is when Chuck starts panicking because Max isn’t with them. They’ve managed about two hours of stilted conversation about feelings, or round about ways of talking about feelings without talking about them, before Chuck reaches down to pet Max and gets air. Raleigh had just been able to process Chuck’s wide eyed look and air of confusion before it changed completely into a look of pure, adulterated panic. A distressed sound left his lips before he whipped his whole body underneath the table. Raleigh had his own small panic attack for Chuck’s injuries. 

“He’s not here!” Chuck yells appearing suddenly, and a little violently judging by the shaking of the table. The few people in the mess stop eating to watch the spectacle. Why are they always in the mess when this shit happens? 

“Chuck I’m gonna need you to breath, ok? We’ll find Max,” Raleigh speaks clearly like he’s afraid the words won’t get through. Chuck spins on from where he was checking under the next table to shoot him a nasty glare.

“We better or I’m going to kill someone and you’re closest,” Chuck hisses. Raleigh’s eyebrows raise in shock. 

Alright, then. Time to find the dog. 

It takes a few minutes for Raleigh to get Chuck to stop flitting around the mess enough to remind him that the last place they both saw Max was with Tendo in control. Raleigh has Chuck’s good bicep in his hand, so that he doesn’t try to run again. The first time resulted in Chuck collapsing on the ground in pain. How the man forgot that he has broken ribs Raleigh doesn’t know. They do walk pretty quick though if only because the threats of bodily harm against Tendo’s person are getting more and more severe. 

When they get to control Chuck’s anxiety only increases because Tendo and Max are nowhere to be seen. His eyes keep moving around the room like the two will appear randomly appear and he’ll get his Max back. Raleigh tries and fails to get Chuck’s attention to focus on him. It takes him cupping Chuck’s cheeks to get his notice. 

“Hey,” Raleigh murmurs,” We’ll find him ok. Let me broadcast over the Shatterdome ok? We’re gonna find him.” 

He let’s go of Chucks face, but Chuck grabs one of his hands with his good. Raleigh interlocks their fingers. Chuck nods at him and Raleigh presses the button for a building wide transmission. It takes less than thirty seconds for Newt to reply after the transmission. They’re both in the lab. Chuck’s sigh of relief at his side allows a little bit of Raleigh’s worry to slip away. 

“If any of you has harmed Max in anyway, I’m going to find a way to re-open the breach and stick you down there,” Chuck threatens, or tries too. He mostly just sounds adorable. Kind of like a kitten trying to be a lion. It’s just fucking cute. 

“No one harmed your dog,” the irritation in Tendo’s voice reads loud and clear, “Calm your ass down.” 

“I can’t. You kidnapped my dog.” 

“Kidnapped? Kidnapped?! Are you out of-”

“Just come down and get the bloody beast out of the lab, for God’s sake!” Gottlieb shouts over an outraged Tendo, who is still trying to yell at Chuck, but with little success because it only causes Max to start barking and Gottlieb to start ranting. Chuck’s smugness seeps into the grin on his face and that tells Raleigh all he needs to know. Little brat. Always has to start a fight.  


Chuck’s still smirking when they leave control, his still smirking as they walk down to the labs, he’s even smirking when the doors to the lab begin to open. He stops smirking the moment the doors are open and he gets trampled by fifty four pounds of overexcited Bull Dog. He’s got a full blown grin on his face as Max sits on his stomach and it quickly turns to laughs as Max gives him slobbering kisses. 

Raleigh leans against the open doorway with giant grin on his face as he watches Chuck scratch at Max’s ears and gushes over him with all sorts of praise. Max notices Raleigh when he outright laughs at Chuck calling Max, ‘His little man,’ and sets his puppy eyes up on him until Raleigh is forced to stoop down next to the two and give Max some head rubs. He catches Chuck’s eyes and they grin at each other. 

And unbeknownst to the two Tendo is gloating with an, ‘I told you so,’ over Newt and Gottlieb who aren’t quite prepared to completely believe the site before them. 

“…I think I want to change my bet in the pool,” Newt isn’t quite how he gets the sentence out because he’s in complete awe at Raleigh getting to ruffle Chuck’s hair to mess it. And all Chuck does is scowl at him. Until Raleigh runs his fingers through it again to fix it, which Chuck smiles at and lets Raleigh keep doing even after his hair is fixed. 

Ohhhhhh, he is sooooo changing his bet. 

***

5

It’s a month later that the next instance happens. It’s a slow day, or as slow as a day ever gets at a major military instillation. Instead of doing all the paperwork that he should really be attempting to finish Chuck was playing catch with Max all over said major military instillation (and it really is all over the Shatterdome). They’ve already been yelled at in the Jaeger prep room, the engineering room, the mess hall, and he swears Tendo was going to rip his intestines out when he tried to play in the control room. Newt and Gottlieb locked him out of the lab completely when they saw him coming with a ball in hand and Max eyeing it. 

They’ve played in the gym and managed to hit one of the security officers in the face. The man was none too happy and really it’s not running away if he knows that he’d lose. They try a few more places, but Chuck gets bored when no one seems to get annoyed (much more fun that way). They had ended up on the hallway by the lower officers’ quarters, but Corporal Shannon is scary when she wants to be. Also he’d like to keep is rectum a ball free zone. 

Max ends up catching the ball as they run away from irate kitchen worker with a ladle and taking off, so that Chuck has to run after him. It’s the most fun he’s had in weeks, especially since his arm has completely healed and his ribs have mostly healed. He charges around the corners with Max, dodging people, who sometimes yell or otherwise shake their heads in dismay at their antics. 

Chuck has absolutely no idea where Max is running too, but he seems to have a destination in mind, so he runs after him. Turns out Max wants to be in the Jaeger pilot living spaces. Right outside Raleigh’s door. Raleigh’s door turns out to be open and Raleigh turns out to not have a shirt on. Chuck is steadfastly not looking at his abs. He may be peeking, but that’s purely for science. Max scurries up to Raleigh and deposits the ball at his feet. Raleigh stares at it like he’s never seen a chewed up, spit ridden tennis ball before. He looks at Max before looking at Chuck. Chuck shrugs, 

“Come play with us.” 

Raleigh’s eyebrows shoot up into his hairline, but not even eight seconds later (shut up Chuck did not count) he’s picking up the world’s most disgusting ball. He throws it up and catches it much to the delight of Max who watches the ball’s progress as his little tail starts wagging. Chuck grins as Raleigh snickers while he grabs a shirt and backs Max out of his room so he can lock it. He quickly chucks the ball down the hall and all three of them chase after it. 

It’s the three of them wreaking havoc all over the base after that. Chuck or Raleigh will throw the ball give Max a chance to get and then race after him too. The amount of people they manage to irritate the hell out of is staggering, but it’s still the most fun either has had in a good long while. They are breathless, grinning fools as they take off after each other. Raleigh likes to grab Chuck around the waist and haul him back away from the ball as Chuck laughs. It’s less of a game of catch for Max and more of a game to see who can catch the other more. It lasts for another hour before Raleigh chucks the ball down the command hall and it gets caught. 

By Pentecost. 

Who looks ready to do something more than rip out Chuck’s intestines. 

“Sir,” they say together. 

“Boys,” Pentecost replies, “Do either of you have any idea how many complaints I’ve received today?”

“No sir.” 

“Way too many. Take this outside. Now.” 

Pentecost lobs the ball to Raleigh. They both hurry past for fear a harsher retribution (because honestly this is severely light for the man), but Max just shuffles up to Pentecost. The man reaches down and pats Max on the head,

“Good boy.” 

***

+1

Max wouldn’t stop tugging on his leash. He wouldn’t stop dragging Chuck to some random destination. A fuming Chuck was hurling all manner of insults and curses at his most valued friend as he could barely keep up with Max. He was like a dog with a bone. Heh. Really though Chuck was falling all over himself, much to the delight of everyone he passed who tried to hide their snickers (they failed miserably), to just maintain his hold on the leash. 

A particularly viscous tug led him flailing to stay upright until Max tugged forward again and Chuck had a personal meeting with the ground. It was a cold bitch. Max was still trying to yank him forward and Chuck was lying on the floor wrenching the leash back towards him in an attempt to get Max to stop. The fifty five pounded bull dog turned and growled. Chuck stared at his pup in complete disbelief. Max had never growled at him. Ever. 

“What the fuck’s gotten into you?” Chuck snarled at Max and the only answer he got was another growl and a sharp jerk to the cord, “Alright. God. I’m getting up you overgrown ass.” 

As soon as Max deemed Chuck to be steady on his feet he took off again. Newt snorted and Gottlieb shook his head (there may have been mumbles about being in a mad house to accompany the head shaking) as they rushed by the labs. Chuck turned and flipped him off, or well, turned as much as he could when his maniac of a dog was corralling him through the halls. Tendo dropped his paperwork to laugh his ass off when they flew by him. Chuck was starting to get the urge to growl himself.

Pentecost saluted as Max when they flew by him and Mako hid her laugh behind her hand. And what the fuck was everyone doing heading to the labs? No one was ever down here, except for Newt and Gottlieb, unless something important was going on (or Newt had brewed some new type of alcohol that they were all trying, but that was classified and coded so that the message went to the right people). If there was some sort of meeting he was supposed to be at he was gonna be late because Max wasn’t stopping for anyone. 

Well, apparently almost anyone.

When Raleigh turns the corner Max heaves on the godforsaken leash, so much so, that Chuck drops it like a hot pan because it fucking burns as it slides across his palm. Raleigh beams as he couches down with arms wide to receive Max running into him. In seconds he’s got a lap full of happy canine squirming, clamoring for rubs. It takes a few minutes for Max to notice that Chuck hasn’t wandered over to them. He whines and trots over to Chuck, whose standing in the middle of the hall watching with a smile. 

“What?” he says when Max gets up him, but Max just ignores him, slips behind him, and behind nudging him in the direction of Raleigh, “Max you are ridiculous.”

But he goes. Anytime he tries to stop Max starts prodding at him with his nose, so Chuck finally gives up with a heaved sigh and rolled eyes. He comes to a stop a foot away from Raleigh who’s risen from the floor. He looks at Raleigh before staring down at Max. 

“Ok. I’m here. What is it that you-“ He gets cut off when Max throws his weight at the back of legs causing his knees to buckle and Raleigh to make a quick grab to stop him from re-meeting the floor. He gives Max a death glare, but he only gets pants back before Max jogging around to behind Raleigh to push him closer to Chuck. They can hear Tendo and Newt’s guffaws coming from the doorway of the lab. Gottlieb is chuckling along with them, while Mako has a silent fit of giggles next to Pentecost who’s cracking a smile. 

“Chuck,” Raleigh says and he waits until Chuck has stopped glaring at Max before continuing, “I think your dog is trying to get us together.” 

Max barks in confirmation and wags his tail happily when Raleigh and Chuck look at him. The laughter from the lab gets louder when Mako’s silent laughs have become audible. Chuck looks back at Raleigh,

“But we’ve been dating for two months.” 

The laughter abruptly cuts off and a chorus of what’s resound around the corridor. Tendo and Newt are still hanging on each other and the doorway they were using to hold themselves from when they couldn’t breathe from laughing so hard, only now they’re using it to support their shock. Pentecost as gone blank faced and Mako’s brows are furrowed as she tries to puzzle out exactly when this development happened. Max has collapsed into a tired heap on the floor and seems to glaring balefully up at his master. Gottlieb is the only one who looks amused at the situation as his grin has cracked in the face of everyone’s confusion. 

“Right, well. This has been fun,” Raleigh mutters. He looks at Chuck, Chuck who is currently in a glaring contest with his own dog. He rolls his eyes before reaching for Chuck’s chin and pulling him to face him. Chuck’s indignation is cut off by Raleigh’s lips. Chuck’s scowl quickly turns into a smile and a hum against Raleigh’s lips. He skims a hand to slide into the short hairs at the nape of Raleigh’s neck and leaves the other twisted tight in the front of Raleigh’s shirt since his almost fall to keep him close. Raleigh tighten his arms around Chuck to pull him even closer. 

The shocked silence around them only deepens until Newt seems to realize something and rounds on Gottlieb to interrogate him,

“Why the hell are you not confused?” 

“Caught them snogging in a hallway a month ago,” Gottlieb’s reply is smug. 

“And you just kept letting us go on with this?” Tendo demands. 

“It amused me,” he shrugs.

“Wait a second! This means you win the bet!” Next bursts out in an absolute outrage. 

“Best to have the cards before betting,” Gottlieb counters with a shrug of his shoulders before turning to Max and ignoring his owners who are no longer paying attention to anything (and should probably get a room), “Come along. We’ve got work to do.”  
He shoos Newt and Tendo out of the way and steps aside so Max can get through the doorway. He lets Max settle in his doggy bed in front of the chalk board before bouncing ideas off of him. Tendo and Newt can only stare. 

As for Raleigh and Chuck. 

Well, they got yelled at by Pentecost when Raleigh’s hands strayed a little too far into Chuck’s pants. 

***

+2

There are many different betting pools going on at the Shatterdome at one time. When the next time Pentecost will crack a smile is one (Mako normally wins), but another is what Herc is going to do to Raleigh when he comes back from his diplomatic mission to Australia. Every single person currently working and residing in the Shatterdome knows that Chuck hasn’t told his father about Raleigh, so the bets about what Herc is going to do keep coming in and keep getting more outlandish. 

What actually happens is Herc comes home, opens his son’s door to tell he’s back, and immediately shuts it again. He stares at it blankly for a few seconds before wrenching it open again and letting out an almighty roar of Raleigh’s name. Chuck endeavors to explain what is happening, but Herc isn’t so much listening as envisioning Raleigh’s head exploding. Thus, it is not really so surprising when Raleigh gets punched in the face. 

The surprising part is when he pulls Raleigh in for a hug not even seconds later.


End file.
